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{{Infobox maroon carriage
|image = LMS 24617 20150718.jpg
|caption = LMS 24617 Corridor Composite(2015)
|construc = BR Derby
|status = In service
|carno = 24617
|othernos = M24617, SC24617M, W24617M
|designed = Stanier
|diagram = 2159
|years6 =
|events6 =
}} '''LMS 24617''' is a '''Corridor Composite''' (CK), the term 'composite' denoting seating for more than one class. It is the only running LMS porthole corridor composite in the world.<ref name=BLSep23>[https://www.svrlive.com/blsep23 Branch Lines, September 2023]</ref>
The LMS had begun to build the first batches of all-steel, welded construction coaches by 1938, although the Second World War and post-war rationing of steel interrupted this programme. Sir William Stanier was succeeded as CME of the LMS by C E Fairburn in 1944 and H G Ivatt in 1945. Although neither produced any new carriage designs, they did implement some of Stanier's style changes. Among those was the port-hole stock, echoing that used by the 1938 streamliners.
==Preservation==
24617 was acquired for preservation by the [[L.M.S. & B.R. Coach Department Sales Coach|LMS & BR Coach Fund]]. It was one of seven vehicles to arrive on the SVR from Didcot on 28 August 1968, the other two GWR and four LMS carriages having been acquired in a 'package deal' by various groups and individuals. From the time of their arrival it was always intended that the LMS vehicles would eventually be restored to LMS livery,<ref name=SB2>SVR Stock Book Second Edition</ref> although with 24617 being in virtually ex-works condition it was unlikely that would take place in the immediate future.
A visit by the [[Stanier 8F Locomotive Society|Stanier 8F Society]] to the Derby Litchurch Lane Carriage Works Open Day in August 1972 resulted in an invitation for [[LMS Stanier 8F 48773|8233]] and three LMS coaches to be exhibited at the following year's Open Day on 11 August 1973. Repairs to [[LMS 12992 Corridor Third|Corridor Third 12992]] took longer than anticipated and in July a late decision was made to send 24617 instead, being both Derby built and in the best condition of the 1968 batch.<ref name=SVR29>SVR News 29</ref><ref name=SB2/> Time constraints allowed only for a quick repaint and lettering of 24617 in the same BR Maroon livery, which was carried out at Hampton Loade.<ref name=SVR29/>
By December 2008 24617 had completed an unbroken record of 40 seasons in service. It returned to Kidderminster paint shop as part of a refresh of the LMS set which had been in progress for several years, interrupted by the [[2007 Storm Damage]]. The windows received new skates and springs throughout, while a new gangway canvas was fitted at the third class end. The vestibule floor at the same end had become rotten and was renewed. The entire interior was rubbed down and re-varnished, after which all the ceilings were cleaned and repainted. Externally the paintwork was refreshed although without a full repaint on this occasion. The seats were also re-covered with fabric paid for by the Rolling Stock Trust.<ref>SVR News 164, 167</ref>
Most of the LMS carriages have gunmetal frames which do not suffer from corrosion, but 24617 has the SVR's oldest set of aluminium windows. All 14 windows were removed and refurbished, including replacing whole lengths with new aluminium bar. New toughened glass was also fitted.<ref name=SVR221/> The interior received a major revamp, with the old varnish being stripped from the veneered panels. During this work, repairers found pencilled scribblings on the exposed walls from those who built the coach. Some form of spelling test was in one compartment, piecework rates were calculated elsewhere, and a roll call of the assembly team appears on another wall. The team documented all the original graffiti in the coach which remains untouched hidden behind veneer panels, added to with a 2022 team roll call of volunteers and paid staff.<ref>[https://www.svrlive.com/bldec22 Branch Lines, December 2022]</ref> The coach was also rewired to replace the original rubber-coated wiring. By the 2023 [[Open House Weekend]] the first class compartments were sufficiently complete to be displayed together with working compartment lights and wall lights.<ref>SVR News 222</ref> Other work carried out included replacement of the linoleum flooring, gangway bellows, upholstery, and restored tables. The coach was repainted, not in the normal LMS pre-war Period 3 livery but in 1948/9 British Transport Commission livery, numbered M24617. It re-entered service in time to appear in the 2023 [[Autumn Steam Gala]], maintaining its record of running at least one day in service in every season since its arrival in 1968<ref name=BLSep23/>. <gallery mode=packed heights=200px style="text-align:left">LMS_24617_20230915.jpg|Newly-overhauled 24617 at Arley, September 2023</gallery> 24617 normally forms part of [[Carriages#Set_L|the LMS Maroon set (Set L)]], notwithstanding that it was not built until after nationalisation.
==See also==
==References==
